A PTSD diagnosis can follow breast cancer

According to Med Page Today, detecting PTSD early in breast cancer patients will help with coping and a smoother recovery process.

The study, done by telephone, interviewed women that were diagnosed with stage I, II or III breast cancer. Three phone interviews were conducted - the first was two to three months after diagnosis, the second was four months after and the last was six months.

PTSD was present in 12.6 percent of participants in the study at the second call, and 12.1 percent had what was termed as "persistent" PTSD, present in two consecutive interviews.

“During the first two to three months after diagnosis, nearly a quarter of them met the criteria for PTSD, although the symptoms declined over the next three months. Younger women were more likely to develop symptoms of PTSD, and data suggest Asian and black women are at a more than 50 percent higher risk than white women,” said Alfred I. Neugut, M.D., Ph.D., reported in PsychCentral.